Time waits for no man, and that was especially true for Peter, the more he did the more he found he had to do.

With MJ tentatively agreeing to rent out the other home he now raced to get both finished before the summer. and for them at least, school ended.

Gwen wanted to be settled before her new term started. While MJ wasn't in as much of a rush, she still wanted to move in at the same time as Gwen. So it wasn't ‘weird’ as she put it.

He had no idea how to feel about MJ moving in. They had been close when they were young. In high school, Flash made it clear he was to stay away from her. Even when he tried to talk to MJ, she had given him the cold shoulder as well.

He could never decide if it was MJ that prompted the response from Flash or if it was the other way around. If Flash was a dick to him, it wasn’t too much to imagine that he wouldn’t exactly be the nicest boyfriend either.

He had to give her a chance, even if it meant dealing with Flash. She had been his only friend growing up. The one friend that stayed with him after Uncle Ben died and it had broken his heart when they had to leave.

This wasn’t High School. Flash might have had sway there, but not here. Here he was the landlord.  Any trouble or signs of Flash being an asshole and Peter could legally, and very happily, throw him out on his ass.

With two actual tenants, he needed to make sure everything was up to code. Wiring needed one so every home had power. The wetrooms needed tiled and waterproofed and the showers then fitted.

He had asked Aleksei if he knew a licensed plumber and electrician as the City needed them to be certified. Aleksei had given him a book of numbers, and he found two willing to do the work.

The walkways had been secured. So unless MJ or Gwen decided to jump over some iron bars they would know to stay off them.

The floor had been finished, and the homes and his own office had been finished on the outside.

He had considered repainting them, as they were bright blue. After the flooring was finished and down decided against it. Peter figured if Gwen or MJ wanted to change their colour he would let them, but that would be on them.

Inside was the same. Using the same whitewash Peter had sprayed the whole place down. If Felicia or MJ wanted a different colour, well then they could arrange that themselves.

He had finished as far as he was concerned with both homes built and decorated.

With work and the warehouse taking up most of his time, he had hardly been out patrolling. His fight with Black Cat had put a dampener on his nightly excursions as Venom.

He knew that against a stupid mugger or thief with no training he could squash them flat. Against someone with training,  he was all muscle and brute strength and no finesse or tactics.  Black Cat showed she knew several martial arts, and he had gotten lucky.

He needed guidance. But that had its own problems. he could attend self-defence classes or martial arts studios as Peter. Going as Venom, or revealing his powers was more of a problem.

Even so, he signed up for a self-defence class. It utilised a mix of everything and with his enhanced speed and strength.

He wanted something more fluid than a traditional Martial Art with the added bonus of it being one class.

A middle-eastern martial art fitted the bill perfectly. As it was used by their special forces he figured it couldn't be all that bad.

He had neither the time nor the money to sign up for three or four different ones.

His problems lay in his enhanced senses. He could move faster and hit harder than a normal person, but loud noises and bright lights gave him a headache. His enhanced senses were going haywire most of the time and as Venom it just got worse.

He had sketched the basic design of a headpiece. It was simple ear baffling with a speaker to allow him to block and tune out specific noises but still talk. Simple goggles, with light-sensitive lenses. Simple dark covers were no good, he needed something adjustable.

The headset would be easy enough to build. A quick visit to a Radioshack and a couple of hundred bucks would have a working prototype built. So Peter wasn't too worried about it, what did worry him was the latest edition of the Daily Bugle.

There were more detailed and less grainy pictures of Spider-Man and Black Cat. Whoever was taking them was becoming bolder, and for Peter, that was bad news.

It hadn't painted him or Black Cat in a good way either. "costumed menaces" was the usual headline. Black Cat usually beating some asshole, while Spider-Man always got more positive press.

Spider-Man was given a much nicer subtext, ‘A new hero for a new year.’

He had been taking pictures of crimes as they happened. Leaving criminals and memory cards behind. He had learned. Now, evidence was left undisturbed and crime scenes were left without contamination.

Peter cursed, as he watched the video he had with Black Cat. Whoever had taken it was on another rooftop nearby. It was grainy but high enough quality it was very obvious who it was.

Thankfully no one from the Daily Bugle had contacted him about it. Either the filmer didn't know it was his or didn't know where the fight took place.

It was still worrying though, not only had Black Cat snuck up on him but someone had been close enough to film.

His security had been lax and with two tenants to take care of, he needed to make sure it was better.

Between finishing the warehouse, finishing up the homes, and filling out paperwork. Peter was swamped. The small pile of paperwork suddenly became a massive pile of permits. and licence applications.

Matt had been gracious enough to give him a hand. Filing and processing forms helped Karen with her paralegal training. While Peter got an official stamp on everything.

The added costs had hurt. Especially when he found out just how much some of them cost. But they were essential and provided him with the proper paperwork to rent the homes.

Peter was almost crying with each visit to the bank.

The small amount of money he had left from the settlement was almost gone. Gone on carpet, permits and other small items he never even knew he needed until Karen asked.

But each permit he got stamped and each inspection he passed brought him closer to the first part of his plan. Tenants and money.

Thankfully a legally binding lease could be bought for dollars off the internet. Once notarized there would be no further issue.

Once the homes passed their final inspection Gwen and MJ were both free to move in.

A modest rent of one thousand a month was agreed upon.

Peter had checked local listings, and smaller apartments were going for more. A lot more in some locations.

While he could have asked for so much more these were his friends. He argued the area wasn’t residential, lowering the rent he could charge.

Leases were signed and move-in dates were settled.

Peter had taken advantage of the warehouse's position. A nice open roof next to the bay with lots of sunlight and had made it as green as he possibly could.

Spending a few extra hundred to add in insulation and solar panels saved in the long run. Cheaper electricity and water bills made anyone happy. Especially once he'd seen how much they were expected to be.

Peter was finding out slowly that being an adult was no fun.

But at the end of the month, it was done. High School would be finishing up soon and as he'd dropped out he had no exams or end-of-year prom to worry about.

He had heard about the accident at school. He knew it would be a busy time for the college hosting all the kids now displaced by the explosion and fires.

Gwen was upset that prom was cancelled. The school district issued an apology but that was the end of it. Nothing was planned, and complaints were ignored. He wondered if his settlement had anything to do with that. A final screw you to Midtown High.

At Gwen's request, he'd built two decks on top of each home. It gave the girls more space but his own was still just the double office.

He had asked Aleksei where he got them, but it was cheaper to buy second-hand ones.

Soon enough he had purchased another four to fill the last side of the warehouse.

Small things slowly took chunks of his money. As he paid for the final inspection, he was staring at a three figure bank balance once again.

Broke but happy Peter was ready to begin the next phase of his life.

⁂

"Hey, Pete," Gwen already had keys and had let herself in, "I got a moving-in date set for the weekend after school breaks up." She threw her arms around him and leaned her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, and how's Captain Stacy Taking it?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Uh, Daaaad doesn't know yet, 'cause he'll pitch a fit once he does."

"Oh yeah, Gwen. Great plan," Peter exaggerated rolling his eyes back at her. Her dad wasn’t exactly known for his patience when it came to Gwen.

"Oh shush, he'll complain and then realise it’s too late and before you know it, he'll be taking charge."

"Uh-huh," was the only response she got back.

"Soo, I was thinking of you, me, Felicia, and MJ going out for our first official drink once school ends. You know to celebrate the new place." she flopped down onto the chair next to his, "MJ's up for it, We're all ID'd and legal so it’s just you Pete."

Now Peter did roll his eyes at her. He was never the most sociable person in school and now he hated crowds even more. His super-senses now gave him more information than he needed.

It was easy enough to tune out voices and whispers but body odour was an issue. Unless he wore nose plugs he'd probably be smelling unwashed bar fly for a month.

But this was Gwen, and as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. "Sure, but, what about a diner instead, there's a burger joint on 3rd, they have a bar too so we can get drinks."

In an attempt to curb underage drinking, New York implemented a policy. For two weeks after High School graduation. As long as the group had a designated driver or an adult, anyone over eighteen could drink legally. Lower than the normal twenty-one.

The police department got tired of finding kids passed out drunk or causing mayhem. With some success. They left the responsibility of graduates celebrating too much to their parents.

Gwen interrupted him with a smooch on the cheek, "I'll let MJ know." She took out her phone and scrolled through her calendar, "Moving is on the fifteenth, so how about the night before? Should stop us from uh, overindulging."

Peter knew what she meant. The last thing they wanted was to try and move when hungover. "Sounds good," Peter reached over his workstation and made a mark on a calendar. It was a little over a month away.

"Phff, so retro Pete"

Peter laughed, "Just make sure that Flash doesn't turn up. He isn't welcome here, and I don't want to see him."

Gwen nodded, "yeah, MJ knows. Unless he's a complete idiot he won't show."

“She’s been kinda weird the past few times I saw her, but I'll make sure.”

Gwen stretched, "so. I've got a few hours." She moved over and sat on his lap, “any ideas?”

Peter grinned and pulled her in for a kiss,

⁂

Once Gwen had gone home for the night he looked around the warehouse at the last of the work he had to do.

It was a good distraction. While he was still sore over what happened, it was also true that he was losing the edge on his anger at Flash.

Things were getting better. Once school ended, he had tenants and money coming in. Once they were settled, he could start phase two of his plan.

Getting a diploma and starting to get more serious with Parker Industries.

While it wasn't necessary, people would take him a lot more seriously if he had a formal education. Even if it was just a piece of paper at the end of the day.

Peter was slowly learning.

Adult life revolved around having the right piece of paper and the money to pay for them.